The present invention relates to storage systems, and in particular to the automation of storage system settings, including configurations in which the storage system is connected to multiple networks.
Due to recent trends in data consolidation, storage systems in large enterprises and midrange storage systems are being configured with increasingly large numbers of input/output (I/O) ports. Large storage systems can provide on the order to tens of I/O ports. These large numbers of ports provide high connectivity to the many host computers that can be found in most working environments, be they businesses, educational facilities, hospitals, and so on.
A variety of physical connection schemes have been implemented over time. Host computers can be connected directly to an I/O port on the storage system. Some of the I/O ports can be connected to a communication network, allowing host computers that have access on the network to the storage device via the network. Such networks include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the like. Typically, the storage system is connected to a switching apparatus such as a router, or a gateway, or the like. In addition to physical connection methods (referred to as “wired” connections), technology exists which can provide host devices with connection to a storage system over a “wireless” connection.
In the case of “wired” connections to the storage system, one end of a cable is physically attached to a suitably configured port and the other end connects to a host computer or to a switch that is connected to a communication network.
As typical examples, storage systems can be connected to host computers via SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) connections. Physical connection can be made using Ethernet or a Fibre Channel (FC) switch. These interfaces (data communication methods) allow users, such as a system administrator, to locate a host computer at a location that is physically remote from the storage systems.
A consequence of the physical cabling is that numerous connections between the many ports on the storage system to host computers and/or switches can become difficult to manage. It is easy to for cables to be accidentally cross-connected, and difficult to troubleshoot accidental cross-connections. This is a problem looking for a solution.